Coco Vandaweghe and Ashleigh Barty have won the double title at the Women’s US Open 2018. In a dramatic final, the American-Australian double beat Kristina Mladenovic and Timea Babos 3:6, 7:6 (2) and 7:6 (6).
The first pinprick on final Sunday in New York came from Mladenovic and Babos, who quickly took the lead 2-1 and broke.
The Australian Open champions were aggressive and put strong pressure on the American-Australian duo on the other side. However, the leadership should not last long. Vandeweghe/Barty bit their way into the match and took a 3-2 lead after an immediate re-break.
Mladenovic, with Dominic Thiem in private life, and Babos immediately fought back, scored the second and third break of the match and secured the first round with strong serves and returns with 6:3. the balance of power on the court was clear: “Kiki” and Babos dominated the rallies and were more present on the net.
The match-determining duo also used their momentum in set two and took a 1-0 lead thanks to a strong service game by the Hungarian. Mladenovic played with a terrifying presence, Babaos acted with finesse and a class difference developed between the two teams.
Even though Vandeweghe/Barty were able to fend off three break points in the first service game of the second round, the final ran in the direction of the number two seeded duo. The weak point in the Australian-American duo’s game was the volley qualities of Vandeweghe, who could not cope with the speed of her opponents on the net. With a “Jesus Christ, that’s bad”, the American commented on her mistakes on the court.
The second round became more exciting with increasing duration and was decided in the tiebreak after Mladenovic/Babos missed two match points. In the short decision, Vandeweghe in particular found her game and the course of the game turned. Barty/Vandeweghe worked out a comfortable 5:2 lead and finally made up for it in the sets.
In the final set both duos did not give each other anything and Vandeweghe/Barty scored two break and match balls at 5:4. They could not use the Australian and US-American and had to accept the equaliser to 5:5.
The decisive mini-break to win the title was made by Vandeweghe/Babos at 7:6 in the tiebreak, when Frenchwoman Mladenovic made a double mistake. For Vandeweghe and Barty, it’s the first title ever at a Grand Slam tournament.
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